When streaming across a network, the quality of the received video is dependent on a continuous flow of data from the source to the destination. Several approaches have been used to resolve this issue. Cirrus Logic proposed a solution under the commercial name Whitecap, and others have proposed similar hardware solutions for a guaranteed bit-rate. These solutions typically provide prioritization and quality of service layers on top of the standard hardware for the network.
Real Audio and others ask the users whether they have a “high bandwidth” connection and then employ very large buffers to control the streaming to overcome the unreliable nature of network streaming.
An approach is needed that does not require user interaction, or specialized hardware, and can provide an acceptable video and audio stream even in low bandwidth situations such as when using a wireless network or across the internet.